Baby Talks - tags Mii

[Riley Adams]

With Danny out with a client and everybody else he knew having plans, Riley thought he could devote his time to his camera. The day looked way too perfect as the sun shone through his partially opened blinds.

After showering, Riley brought out his camera equipment and packed them into his camera bag before leaving the house. He decided to walk over to the lake, the time over there spent with whirs and clicks of his camera as he snapped at everything.

So absorbed was he in taking pictures that by the time he was at the lake, he had taken up half the memory card. A shrill yelp of "Baby!" brought him back to the present as he looked down to where he heard the voice to see a beautiful little baby boy grinning up at him.

"Hi little guy." Riley beamed, looking about to find the mother or father before turning back to the little boy. "Baby!" He reached one hand up, grasping the air. With a quick snap of the camera, Riley kept the device in his bag and pulled the boy up into his arms. "Who do you belong to, angel?" He asked, walking towards the middle of the lake to find any distressed adult only to find someone vaguely familiar.

"Mii?" He gave a broad smile as he waved the young woman down.

[Midori Hawkins]

Sometimes Mii’s job threw her into a confusing space. She’d earned another odd weekday off due to a weekend trip. That in itself wasn’t so bad. It meant she could keep Tory home from daycare and play with him and Zero all day. But sometimes that wasn’t enough. Tory had been racing all over the house, and even Zero had seemed a bit restless.

This had all led to a little car trip down to the lake. As long as Tory stayed close and didn’t go near the water, she didn’t foresee anything terrible happening. Zero seemed happy for the change of scenery, walking along at a heel nicely with her tail wagging.

Tory was another story. The moment his feet had touched the ground, he’d been raring to go. It was all Mii could do to keep him in sight. Maybe it really was time to invest in one of those backpack leash things for him. At least he was listening enough to keep in sight. For now.

He was getting a little too far ahead when she heard him call out ‘Baby!’ Slightly on alert, she picked up her pace, Zero jogging quietly beside her. “Tory? Honey, stay where I can see you...” Okay. He was with a man. A man was holding her son.

She had a moment of panic before he turned, and she realized that she recognized him. Sort of. And clearly he knew her. It took her a moment before she remembered. “Riley?” Right! The man she’d ended up dancing with at the Christmas party... before Tory had even been born. Wow. “Hi! How are you?” She was less on guard now. He seemed pretty harmless.

[Riley Adams]

The little boy squealed when he saw his mother and Riley grinned, walking over to the young woman, not at all registering the fact that he was still a stranger to her and this little boy.

"Hello! It's been awhile." He chuckled as he deposited the boy in his mother's arms. "I've been good! I see the belly is flat now. I'm assuming this is the product." He grinned, bending down a little to ruffle the fur of the dog beside Mii. "How have you been?" He asked, bringing his camera out to take a picture of the dog.

"Do you mind...?" He gestured to his camera and looked at Mii imploringly.

[Midori Hawkins]

Okay, Riley did seem pretty harmless. But being a first time, and still relatively new mother, Midori didn’t quite relax until her son was back in her arms. Not that he wanted to be there. The moment he was given back, he was squirming again to be put down. The recruiter sighed and set him down, but kept a firm hold on his hand to keep him from wandering away.

“It has been,” she admitted with a little smile. “Since the Christmas party, right?” That was her first year back in Pilot Ridge, and back at Hammel. Funny. That seemed like forever ago. “Um, yes. This is Tory.” Tory looked up and beamed, his little hand waving. “Hi Baby!” “... Sorry. He calls pretty much everyone Baby.” Even strangers. Pilot Ridge was fairly safe, but they’d still have to instill the stranger talk. Sooner rather than later, apparently.

“I’ve been good! Things seem to be picking up at work, but that means I’m away from Tory more.” Thank God she had Eli to help with him. Or Darryl, if he was ever around. And there was James, if he wasn’t out recruiting too.

“Mind...? Oh! No, I don’t. I don’t think she would either.” She smiled fondly at the dog and rubbed her ears. “She’s my roommate’s dog. Her name is Zero.” As if on cue, Zero looked up at Riley and wagged her tail. She was a sweet, social dog.

[Riley Adams]

"Yes." Riley nodded, smiling at the young woman before laughing at the little boy with a huge grin plastered on his face. "Hi Baby." He waved back at Tory. "I can't get over how beautiful he is." He grinned and waved a dismissive hand at the apology. "Don't worry."

Riley squatted low and started snapping away at the dog, making little noises as Mii spoke. "I can understand how that feels." He said, remembering how hard it had been separating from Janice every time he had to go back to school all those years back.

"Oh thank you." Riley smiled graciously at Mii before continuing his picture taking only to be disrupted by Tory pawing at the camera. "I see he wants to be taken too. I'm so sorry about this. It's a hobby of mine that I promised a friend I would take up again." He gestured to his camera and grinned sheepishly. "I forgot how much I loved it."

He patted Zero's head and stood back up again, wincing at the ache on his back. The perks of getting old. "Did you get a day off today?" He asked, putting on a smile despite his back ache.

[Midori Hawkins]

Oh, good. She wasn’t entirely out to lunch there. At least she’d managed to remember Riley. He’d been nice enough to dance with her at the party. “Thank you,” she murmured with a little smile. Much as she didn’t want to admit it, she saw a lot of Tory’s father in him. Darryl was lucky he was good looking. Tory was going to be stunning as he got older.

“It’s supposed to be getting easier, leaving him behind when I need to travel, but it doesn’t seem that way.” It seemed to be getting harder, in fact. At least Eli was good at sending her pictures if she had to be gone more than a few days.

Tory had always been fascinated by cameras. He wasn’t shy, which made taking pictures of him a breeze. At least until he made a grab for the cameras. Just as he was doing now. “Yes,” she admitted, trying to pull her son away from the expensive looking equipment. “He loves being in the spotlight.” So very much like his father, and so very unlike her. She’d tolerated her mother snapping a few of her and Tory, but most of Tory’s photos involving her usually meant she was ducking away, or moving so that she wasn’t so much in the shot. She wasn’t as big a fan as he was. “It’s fine. Hobbies are important. I think Zero likes the attention too.” The little dog was wagging, content to rest for a bit.

“I did, actually. I was working over the weekend. Things didn’t go to plan.” Delays had happened every step of the way, and the parents hadn’t been the keenest to let go of their daughter. It had all worked out in the end, thankfully. “It seemed like a nice day for a walk. Tory has some energy to spare today.” Energy he was not about to spend on touching Riley’s camera. “You have today off as well?” She couldn’t recall what he did for a living.

[Riley Adams]

Riley simply smiled at Mii's response to his compliment and continued taking pictures. He would have fun developing these for sure. He made a mental note to make copies so Mii could have them too.

Chuckling, though a little pained that he still hadn't gotten that feeling yet himself, he responded. "I don't think it ever gets easy." He shrugged. "You brought him around for nine months in you." He laughed quietly.

"Oh good. I'm doing him a great service then." His chuckles heightened in volume. The young mother and Riley had that in common. They were both extemely camera-shy. Although Riley found his calling behind the camera and he was very much comfortable with that. He chuckled pleasantly at the dog and the baby interacting easily with him and the camera. He had some pretty good shots of them.

The landscaper forgot whether they even exchanged occupation information when they had danced briefly about two years ago. "I'm sorry but," he paused to grin sheepishly, "What exactly do you work as?"

The turnabout question had him chuckling as he adjusted some bits of the camera for a specific setting. "In a way." He responded. "My partner sort of forced it on me." As it had been the past few months, because of the increase of people he had brought in that cut his work load considerably, Rina was more and more insistent on letting Riley rest.

"I'm glad I actually have hobbies now. At least I know how to fill my time."

[Midori Hawkins]

Riley was admittedly a lot more calm about photos than her mother or brothers. Zachary especially seemed to like to exploit the fact that she wasn’t a fan of being in front of the camera. As a teenager he’d spent countless hours chasing her around with a camera. Riley was a lot more sane about it.

“That’s true,” she answered, smiling fondly at her son. Regardless of the circumstances of his creation, she was sure glad he was here now.

“Yes. Take pictures of him and he’s liable to love you forever.” He was quite the little monkey for cameras already, loving the attention. Again, far too much like his father. She wondered if he would be anything like him personality-wise as he grew up. She was hoping not so much.

Ohh... right. Mii had to be careful about her job. She swallowed, thinking her answer over carefully before replying. “I’m... a recruiter. For a special school.” Most meta-humans caught on easily enough, and baseline humans just shrugged it off as some sort of gifted school. She never corrected them. “It involves a lot of travel time, but I love it.” She reached down to ruffle Tory’s hair. “And Tory’s got about a dozen people willing to babysit him while I’m away.” Though the job usually fell to Eli. Sometimes she worried that she was taking advantage of her best friend, having him look after Tory so often, but watching the two boys together usually squashed those fears.

“Ah. That’s awful luck, Riley,” she teased lightly. “Being forced into taking time off. That’s terrible. I’m glad you found something to fill your time with, though.” Tory kept her busy enough in her down time. Hobbies were something she was going to have to forget about for a little while.

[Riley Adams]

Riley smiled at the look Mii got when she smiled down at her baby boy. He would have taken the picture, just to immortalise that love but it would be cheap to do it without her consent.

"Oh yay, I've always wondered how it would feel like to be loved forever. Especially by this amazingly beautiful creature." The landscaper grinned as he ruffled Tory's hair.

Tilting his head slightly when Mii mentioned her job. "Oh! A Hammel recruiter." Riley smiled and nodded. "Were you from there?" He asked, making sure he kept his voice low. "I've never met a recruiter who didn't go there." He shrugged, adjusting the lens of his camera before stashing it away. "Ah, that's lucky of you." It was lucky of her in so many ways.

Mii's teasing made Riley chuckled, shaking his head in embarrassment. "I know, but when you do something that you love, it's no longer a job for you and you wake up and want to go." He explained. He didn't reveal the fact that he had grown so used to wanting to go because he half expected to see Michael walking out to the office from the back with his unassuming smile.

Blinking away the memory, Riley nodded at Mii's assessment. "Yeah. I'm glad too. Especially when my partner goes to work, I need to entertain myself one way or another." He shrugged before getting an idea.

"Um, Mii...if you don't mind...would you get into a shot? You don't even have to look at the camera."

[Midori Hawkins]

“Tory’s good at loving unconditionally. He’s a bit like a dog in that manner.” She smiled and brushed her fingers over his hair lovingly. “Unless you’re his dad, or one of his uncles.” Tory still refused to repeat the word ‘Daddy’ for her, no matter how many times she tried to implore him to do it. She chalked it up to Daryl just never being around. He was smart enough to know that, and probably applied what little logic he could to not learning it because of that reason. Zach was another story. For him, Mii suspected he could just tell her brother wasn’t as comfortable with him as Corbin was. Zach was one of the few people he cried with.

Clearly, he was fine with Riley.

“Oh! Yes. I’m a Hammel graduate.” She smiled up at him. “Are you as well? Or did you have a family member who attended?” Those were the two surefire ways she knew for people to know about Hammel. “It’s a great job, and my power is one of the more... inoffensive ones to demonstrate for nervous parents.” Really, it was really hard to be nervous around someone who could easily turn into a fluffy puppy or kitten. It seemed to put the recruited students at ease as well.

“Oh, I know.” She felt that way more about her job now than she did about her old job. Being an administrator wasn’t very exciting, nor was it fulfilling. At Hammel she was helping students and their families. Not to mention, she felt very at home.

She glanced up from Tory at his question, and bit her lip for a moment. She really didn’t like getting into shots, but maybe... maybe it would be okay this one time. “Is it okay to have Zero in the shot too?” Maybe she’d ask Riley for a copy, and frame it for Christmas for Eli.

[Riley Adams]

Riley understood that trait, having possessing it himself in his lifetime. He didn't understand any other concept when it came to love. And especially since Michael, he didn't let anything waiver that part of him. The bit about Tory's dad made Riley smile a little sadly. Even with his past, he couldn't bring himself to feel any indifference towards his father.

"Ah!" He nodded understandingly. "I am, yes. So far, I've been the only one in my family who attended." A smile curved his lips and wondered briefly what her power was. He didn't think he could handle being a recruiter. For one thing, he couldn't separate a child from their parents. He would probably be the inconsolable one.

The hesitation on her face should have warned Riley or stopped him from pushing but thankfully she ended up agreeing. "Yes, everyone in the shot." Riley smiled softly, glad she didn't say no. He did feel bad for pushing though. He took a few shots, asking Mii to act as natural as possible. Photos always looked good when the subject wasn't even looking at the camera.

"Thank you." He smiled, shuffling the camera from one hand to the other. "Oh gosh, I can't believe I've been intruding in your family time. I'm so sorry. I just saw Tory and couldn't stop myself." He apologised with a sheepish grin, hoping Mii didn't really mind.

[Midori Hawkins]

Tory’s father was often a bit of a sore subject, especially at home. Though he sent emails and every so often mailed Tory gifts, it wasn’t the same as him being there for his son. Mii was honestly concerned that Tory would grow up having no idea who his father even was, beyond an actor he saw in movies and on television. At this point, Eli was more a father to him than Darryl. They both tried not to say anything about him in front of Tory, but that was going to be harder as he grew up, and had questions.

“I was the only one, too.” Feeling a bit more relaxed about the subject, knowing she was in the company of another meta-human, she was a little more willing to be open with him. “I scared the heck out of my brother when I shapeshifted for the first time.” She stifled a giggle at the memory of Corbin’s shocked face when she’d shifted down into a little puppy.

Though she wasn’t a massive fan of having her picture taken, the thought of asking Riley for a copy of some of the better ones to give to Eli spurred her cooperation. Tory had no issue with the camera pointing at him, waving at Riley and giggling the whole time. Zero simply sat and wagged, though there was a very sweet moment when she got up to snuffle at Tory gently. If Riley had gotten a shot of it, it would be a perfect gift for Eli.

When Riley spoke, Mii looked up at him and got up from crouching near the ground. “You’re welcome. I hope they turned out nice.” She brushed her foot against the ground, watching Tory hug Zero around the neck happily. “Would it be too much trouble to ask for copies of some of them? I want to give them to my roommate.” She’d be happy to pay for them if Riley wanted. As for her concern, she just smiled and shook her head. “It’s all right. We just needed to get out of the house for a bit. Tory was being a little monkey.” As if on cue, the toddler started hopping down the path, not far from everyone. “Hopefully this means he naps later.”

[Riley Adams]

Riley hoped, for Tory's sake, that Darryl did come back long enough to make sure his son knew who he was. And if he had any sort of fatherly instinct, he would never abandon Tory. Though Riley knew Mii looked more than capable of bringing the little boy up on her own, he knew even more what a good fatherly influence could do to a boy.

Then again, his mother did a brilliant job raising him and he couldn't have asked for a better role model.

"Oh no." Riley closed his mouth and chuckled quietly into it. "I never bruised. It weirded my parents out." Not to mention the tattoo artist who was completely puzzled by how he couldn't get a mark in when Riley had his first tattoo. Riley remembered that he had to deactivate his powers for that sole purpose. That part of him was now fading because he'd gotten tired of controlling just that part of him all the time.

Riley managed to capture practically every second of Mii's interaction with Tory, with Zero funnily photobombing a few of them. He was lucky his camera didn't make much noise as he clicked away at multiple shots.

"The thing about photos is that if the subject is good, they turn out pretty perfect." Riley said absentmindedly with a lazy smile. "Not at all," he shook his head as he took more photos of Tory and Zero. "I always have copies. I'll give you the best ones." He grinned widely, putting his camera away.

"I remember my little sister being as precocious or even worst." He laughed quietly. "She'd just go around the house, climbing things at all hours of the day and when it comes to nap time, she's out like a light." He snapped his fingers to indicate how fast Janice used to be able to sleep.

"Mii, thank you so much for being my subject. I've got a good feeling about this." He patted his camera and looked on as Tory kicked up some grass. Riley laughed and smiled a little sadly, wishing he had a Tory in his life too.

[Midori Hawkins]

Honestly, though she wanted her son to have relationship of some kind with his father, Mii didn’t think Tory seemed to be left wanting for anything in his life. He had Eli as a constant male influence in his life. (Honestly, though it was probably a very, very unkind thought, if Tory started calling Eli ‘Daddy’ it wouldn’t surprise her, nor would she really mind that much. He was just there more.)

“Never bruised?” It only took a moment to figure that one out. “Cell regeneration?” Hopefully he was less like Vincent with his power. She’d heard the horror stories about him maiming himself for money just because of that particular power. It was certainly a handy one. Much more practical than shapeshifting. Unless you counted being able to play with your roommate’s dog as a dog as practical.

Pink colored her cheeks at Riley’s comment about the subjects. Sure, Tory and Zero were great subjects. Her, not so much. “Thank you,” she managed with a little smile. “I know my roommate will love them too.”

“Tory’s usually really good, but he was antsy today. He usually just runs around. He hadn’t entered the climbing phase yet. Really, I’m hoping he never does.” Nothing sounded less fun than prying her son off a bookshelf or the back of the couch before he got himself hurt. “He’s pretty good for naps, though.” As long as he was settled with his blanket and his favorite stuffed puppy, he’d go down fairly quickly.

“You’re welcome,” she said earnestly. Riley looked happy about it. “If you want to walk with us, you’re welcome to. I figured going around the lake would tire them both out.”

[Riley Adams]

Riley nodded at Mii's accurate guess. "And biological manipulation. But that came after. For awhile, my parents didn't even know what to do with me." He chuckled, though the reality of his past was a lot more grim than he ever let on.

The blush only registered to Riley after the thanks and even then, he was only half certain what he was seeing. "Let's hope your roommate does." Riley gave her a warm smile.

Giving a little chuckle at Mii's hope, Riley nodded and said a little prayer for them both. Tory seemed very well-adjusted as far as he was concerned so he didn't think there would be much problems with him. "Oh that's a very good thing. You always want them to nap. If they don't, it'll just make them cranky."

Perking up at the invitation, Riley grinned and nodded. "Yes. Please. Maybe I'll get inspired again." He gestured to his camera and stood up again, extending his hand down to Mii to help pick her off the ground. "Shall we?"

[OOC: FINALLY I reply >_> Issa wrap I love you *muacks*]